FOAMFRIENDS WELCOMES A NEW ARTIST BLOG!

 Come on Over and Visit 

Demeter's Dreams 

at

https://demeterdreams.blogspot.com/

and on INSTAGRAM

at

 /https://www.instagram.com/foamfriends4u/

 

I invite you to join me on my continuing JOURNEY to EVOLVE through 

ARTISTIC EXPRESSION as I explore the medium of

Acrylic on Canvas

Thank you for visiting and please consider leaving a comment or writing to me at

foamfriends4u@gmail.com

Going COASTAL at THE BLUE FLAMINGO

FOAMFRIENDS goes COASTAL!

I am very pleased to announce that as of March 2019, FoamFriends by Nita will be available for purchase at 

4229 26th St. W

BRADENTON, FLORIDA

VISIT THEIR WONDERFUL WEBSITE

Or CLICK HERE for their FACEBOOK PAGE!

Here is a GALLERY of the ONE-OF-A-KIND PIECES that were created for and sent to Florida.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions through the link to my email address or if you have a GOOGLE account, you can leave COMMENTS!!

As you would expect, most items have FOAM* elements but I did expand into using acrylics on canvas with resin and gypsum-based molded pieces and texture to add interest!

*extruded polystyrene and EVA foam sheets

 MASKS!!!

Creating these items was so much fun and helped me cope with our MICHIGAN POLAR VORTEX!

 

Faux Foam Driftwood frame!!

SANS BIKINI!!! (Look closely at this one!)

SHADOW SAND BOX!!

Thank you so very much for visiting my BLOG and for making plans to visit THE BLUE FLAMINGO the next time you are in the St. Pete - Sarasota area in Florida.  While you're here, please consider visiting my other galleries and keep in mind that I would LOVE to make you exactly what you want!!

SOME OF MY BEST FRIENDS ARE LIBRARIANS

...and writers and readers and thinkers and doers!   

A lot of my friends are TEACHERS, too. Well, where I work I consider every adult to be in the teaching profession.  Some do their "teaching" while running up and down the sidelines of a court or field of play, others conduct their lessons while sweeping and mopping, quite a few provide training while serving meals and some of us educate through simply setting examples and the best example that can be set is to READ!!

So when my dear friend, the Librarian, approached me with a project that would enable students to feel more comfortable while exploring the different genres that are available in her Library - I was more than happy to help out!  Her idea was to have a set of 10" x 15" bookshelf signs that would clearly indicate the location of the various types of literature so that students could investigate independently. What a great idea!

I had a wonderful time creating the designs for and making these signs and they made me think about all of the different types of books I enjoy reading.  I've always wanted to be a writer but for now I'll settle on being a FOAM artist. I do hope you enjoy these and I hope they give you ideas about something SPECIAL you would like me to create for you!!  

You are UNIQUE and ONE-OF-A-KIND- 

so show it off with a unique and one-of-a-kind FOAMFRIEND!!

So what is your favorite kind of book to read?

Adventure? One of my teacher friends expands her knowledge of the world around us by taking fantastic solo adventures every summer.  She might be in the classroom for 9 months but the rest of the time she is out there - having experiences that enlighten her mind and lighten her soul so that when she returns to the classroom she is an even more powerful woman and educator!!

Fantasy?  One of my teachers friends worked as a substitute teacher five days a week and then went home each night to work on writing.  His genre - Fantasy. He would dress up in costumes to help his students explore the wonderful worlds that can be explored only in books.  Whether he ends up writing or teacher full-time he will give a gift to the young people!

Historic? Fiction or Non-Fiction - they both can be great reads.  One of my teacher friends is a History teacher and has found that by incorporating some historical fiction with his non-fiction lessons his students become even more excited about learning about the past. I know that I loved learning more about the Regency period so that I could enjoy my Jane Austen more! 

Humor? This genre can be found in a lot of fiction. Who doesn't love to laugh.  That's the one thing about working with teachers...they ALWAYS manage to find a way to laugh.  They take their profession seriously but not themselves.  Many of them realize that they are in a wonderful position to continue to see the world through young eyes - eyes that are not fearful or cynical but that still have room for hope and humor!

A Mantra for a Michigan Winter Monday

I am ALIVE.

I am LOVED.
I am HERE.
I am CREATING.
That's enough.

For many of us residing in the north, (including this blogger) January is a time to hibernate.  Lower the blinds to close out the grey when the lid moves upon us for days. Put on some music while you meditate or dance.  Light a scented candle. Write in your journal or send a handwritten letter to a relative or friend. Cuddle up with a few pets, drink some mulled-wine, read a good book, enjoy some indoor pastimes!

Always keeping in mind that when the skies clear to blue and shadows appear how giddy you will feel.  Strangers on the street, on elevators, in line at the store will smile and make eye contact! When the high temperature for the day is above 30 and the overnight lows don't dip below 20 ... celebrate!

Winter life in the north forces you to Live in the Moment - as failure to do so could result in great bodily harm. Any day you can go outside without having to take measures to protect yourself against frostbite or slipping - tripping and falling is truly a special occasion!

Taking my own advice I started off the new year by cuddling with the pets ( yes, the Holly Way Pride is up to five feline members now!), drinking wine (sometimes I'm just not patient enough for the mulling process), reading a good mystery novel (okay - when I say I'm going in to read for awhile it usually turns into a nap) and pursuing some of my favorite indoor pastimes!  These include doing anything with FOAM, researching Lansing history on the web while building my Pinterest gallery of Historical Images of Lansing, playing board games with my two boys, eating comfort foods and finding new ways to express myself artistically!!

My latest project is working with high-quality sandstone drink coasters with rubber nonslip backing.  I didn't have to search very far for inspiration.  It was all around me.  In baskets, sleeping on the couch, playing in paper bags, claiming the top of the frig as their princess tower, waking me too early for morning snack...yep...the Holly Way Pride of FIVE!






Bombadil "Zen Master Vanilla Thunder"
Lucky Buckie "The Illusive"
Avalon "Grey Queen Beauty Butt"
Kadashan "Gold Cats are BIG!"
& Goldberry "Little Princess Buffy"

Soon other cat lovers realized how a void was now present in their lives and that they must pay tribute to their feline family members by having their own unique coasters made by Foam Friends! (I am assuming these thoughts were implanted by their cats.  You may think they are just sleeping a lot but in reality they are planning...always planning!)  Supplied with a couple photos of the cats to be depicted along with some details about their unique personalities - the owners of Lilly, Jack, Sadie and Bobalu soon had their very own way to "Have a Drink on their Cats!".

Not a cat fancier - not to worry.  These Coaster Creatures can be custom created to depict whatever or whomever you want... dogs, rats, birds, or even brothers and bosses!!

Hand-Painted 

High-Quality 

Creature Coasters 

by Foam Friends - $10.00 each

In Honor of LOVE

The one sure thing you can say about my father, that remained true throughout his entire life, was that he dearly loved cats.  Even when Alzheimers took away most of what made him - him, he was still a genuine ailurophile. The weekend after he passed in 2010 we adopted two little orphaned kittens and named them in honor of my father's service during World War II - Kadashan Bay -  named after the ship he served on - and Chester Nimitz - named after the fleet admiral for the United States Navy during WWII.

Over the years Kadashan grew into a "big buddha-bellied bumble bee-biting butter biscuit" of a cat with his brother, Chester, always remaining on the petite side. Tender, loving, inquisitive and absolutely adorable, our Chester was the most beautifully-marked cat we'd ever had.  He loved to tag team for moles with his brother when out back for their "supervised" excursions and liked nothing more than to jump up into his tree to sharpen his claws, check out the yard from a higher vantage point or delay the inevitable when his human brother, Jack, would announce it was time to go in! In January of this year we had to say Farewell to our beloved Chester "Wolfpaw" Nimitz.   
A young spirit with an old soul in a body that was never meant for longevity.  Gone too soon - he joined the others who have drifted in and out of our lives - bringing only LOVE and leaving sweet cherished memories.         Although the winter ground was frozen we laid him to rest next to the castle wall, beneath the branches of his tree where he loved to hunt for moles in the thick green ivy and roll in the soft black soil.

In the Spring we began construction on our FoamFriends Medieval Village.  We started with building three wattle and daub huts and a village well all made from extruded polystyrene and foam craft sheets with plans to eventually design and build a 1:12 scale medieval inn which we would name in honor of our dearly-departed little friend.

Presenting a work in progress:

CHESTER'S REST

                                                                                              For Jeffrey and I - working on this project together has been a wonderfully gratifying experience and as we near the time when the Inn will be placed upon the spot where Chester rests - we find ourselves reflecting on the dear memories of all of the many fur people who have graced our home by sharing their, all too brief, lives with us.  Once the Inn is moved outside, our Bombadil and Goldberry will have to find new napping locations or maybe a foam "cat house" is next on the project list?!  

See more photos of Chester's Rest in the Garden Village gallery tab.

CHESTER'S REST INN

The FOAMFRIENDS Portfolio is HERE!!

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AZuG7RmzaOWTmg

Winter is a State of Mind

I must admit that a smile crept across my face earlier this week when I watched the people of the Deep South struggling with their little temporary taste of what winter really feels and looks like.  It's not a lack of compassion for my fellow human beings - it's JOY in finally getting to share with them the true burden and character-building aspects of that time of year when our hemisphere is tilted the winter way. Welcome fellow Earth inhabitants in the southern part of the U.S. to what has been our Northern reality and what is now becoming...yours.

When you can't roll around in the grass because it is covered with inches (and sometimes feet) of snow. When the sidewalks are unshoveled or icy.  When the roads are too treacherous for travel.  When just going out to get the mail or take out the recycling makes your eyeballs hurt - that is when you discover just how strong you truly are.  Winter is harsh from the salt stains on your boots to the dry skin on your face (the only body part you can reveal for several months) and if you are not in the right frame of mind...it will creep into your heart and make you sad.


So how do I avoid those cabin-fever cold-weather induced slumps in mood?  I opened an account with Pinterest (pinterest.com/foamfriends4u) and started experimenting with new (and exciting) ways to work with FOAM!!!   Okay...here is a warning.  

Pinterest must be used in moderation.  

Yes, it can be a time-stealer but more than that...it can put the right side of your brain on overload!!  There are so many creative people out there with really madly-wild, and not always necessary, crafting skills and I find myself wanting, no - needing, to try my hand at making EVERYTHING!!

So...I reigned myself in and tried one new thing at a time.  
First up....creating Faux Leather from Craft Foam Sheets.
MASKS!!   I could make masks!!   It's too cold to be outside so why not spend a weekend (and a snow day) and make a bunch of masks? The Woodland Spirit mask was inspired by masks made by WingandTalon Leatherworks.  

                                                                                                                                                                  The cats are my own and they are The Venetian, the Celtic, and The Garden Cat. 

       They look cool as a wall display and yes, you can even wear them if you like (but be careful wearing them around your pets..it seems to mess with their sense of reality some how.)  

Winter is truly a State of Mind and  I hope you are finding ways to cope and create until the time comes when we can go back outside without putting on 5 pounds of additional clothing, scraping, shoveling, de-icing, and on and on.  But in the meantime....May I suggest bringing a little FOAMFRIENDS into your life?   

EXPRESS YOURSELF - YOUR DREAMS - YOUR DESIRES
FoamFriends can help make your journey a FOAM-filled one!!  foamfriends4u@gmail.com